


undine calls

by pvwork



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M, Near Death Experiences
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-14
Updated: 2013-09-14
Packaged: 2017-12-26 13:06:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/966270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pvwork/pseuds/pvwork
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nagisa and Rei have a conversation on a beach. In the aftermath of a raging storm, two survivors negotiate with salt and forgiveness.</p>
            </blockquote>





	undine calls

Everything is salt.

The seawater clinging to his skin, the blood in Rei’s mouth, the gritty feeling in his eyes, it is all a reminder of his own stupidity. The beat of the rain, the chill of water evaporating from his skin, and the maybe-tears streaking down his cheeks all serve to remind him that if only he had stayed in the tent then he wouldn’t be in this awful situation, Nagisa panting against his side, sticky with sweat and fear, fingers working tight against his side like he might lose Rei all over again while they are trapped on an island with no warm clothes and sand worming its way into their shorts. 

“I’m sorry,” Rei gasps. He’s so, so sorry. He makes a silent promise that he will never let his emotions, his ego, take control of him in the pool ever again. The water has not room for egos. If only he had done the logical thing and stayed in the tent with Makoto. It’s not like he hadn’t known, theoretically, that the tide would rise, that swimming at night was inadvisable. 

But he’d just wanted to impress his teammates, do well at prefecturals. Win. Win respect. Win his events.

Be the star that he could never be as a track athlete. 

“Hey. Hey,” Nagisa says, “look at me. Look at me.” 

Rei looks down and blinks blurrily at Nagisa splayed against his side. Water is dripping from Nagisa’s wet bangs onto his nose, and places where his hair has already dried stick up at strange angles because of the salt water. He looks bedraggled, but his smile is still comforting. Rei feels guilty for just putting him into this situation.

“I-I am so sorry. You don’t--I wanted to. I just wanted to help,” Rei says. 

Nagisa huffs against skin stretched taut between Rei’s ribs, the ghost of a laugh caught in his breath. 

“You’ve already been so helpful. Becoming part of the team. Working so diligently and,” Nagisa says while ticking off each point on his fingers, “being hilarious.” 

“I’m beautiful. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

Rei looks away, stretching his neck and trying to look beyond the beach and into the sea, despite his poor vision, in an attempt to catch a glimpse of Makoto. He’s trying to preserve some dignity here too.

“Yeah. Yeah, okay, yeah you are.” 

There must still be adrenaline pumping through his system, that moment he nearly blacked out under the crush of a huge wave had only made his heart beat faster the moment he reached the surface, heaving for that next breath, hoping against hope that he would be able to survive long enough to apologize. He’s really so, so sorry. His heart beats fast with each 'sorry' he thinks. And with Nagisa so close, pupils blown so big that his red irises are just a thin ring, he feels just like he’s being pulled down by the sea once again. An irrefutable force.

“I’m sorry,” Rei says again, just barely more than a whisper, meeting Nagisa’s very fond gaze as best he can in the dim moonlight. 

“I don’t think you understand what I am trying to tell you.” Nagisa says, almost conversational as he pushes Rei back against the sand. His skin is very warm pressed against Rei’s cool skin as he straddles him. “I’m trying to tell you that you are forgiven for being overenthusiastic with your training. I’m saying that I appreciate the huge effort you are making to catch up to the other members of this swim club. We're still alive. We're fine, mostly no harm done. And you know what? I’m sure Makoto and Haruka feel the same way. When they find us, they can say it to your adorably disbelieving face. In the meantime…” 

Nagisa’s lips are fire, burning Rei’s lips, stealing his oxygen, making magma ooze through his veins, hissing as it leaves its mark on his very being, and leaving him gasping on the beach trying to think of how to say that he’s sorry with his hands, his eyes, his hips as he groans in the moment Nagisa sits back with a mischievous smile on his lush lips.

“I’m still sorry,” Rei says. 

“That's nice. I like how earnest you are,” Nagisa says as he leans down for another kiss. 

Everything is salt. It’s rubbed in the newest wounds gaping on the surface of Rei’s pride. But it also in the inexorable force of Nagisa’s hands digging into his shoulders, the desperate tilt of his mouth, and the hungry press of his tongue, he is the sea and Rei is very much helpless to his call.

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt via [this tumblr post](http://bigbardafree.tumblr.com/post/61149074035/bigbardafree-ive-been-reading-swimming-anime).


End file.
